Christmas Eve

Sophia and I joined the bell choir and our first performance was Christmas Eve. There were only a few mistakes! The church looked extra pretty even though attendance was very low. Afterwards we did the annual Christmas Eve night with the rest of the Willes. 

 

Christmas Day!

Sophia thought it was a bit early to be up. 

The tree and presents before....

Ranger wanted to be a part of the fun!

She's down again....

Putting together a new Lego set. 

My extra special gift was a painting of the ranch (including the eagle) that Sophia and Lisbeth Anne worked on together (secretly!!). It's so pretty and I love that they worked together to create such a special surprise. I think it will hang at the ranch but for now it looks fabulous in the family room! 

I stitched these fancy Christmas napkins for us this year. They helped make our Christmas Eve Brunch and Christmas Day Breakfast extra pretty! 

 Everyone was very happy with their presents!!! A little later in the morning we went to Mom's to open presents and have lunch. A fairly low-key but very Merry Christmas Day! 

Cousin Fun...

 Lucy and Sophia had fun together while Lucy was here for a few nights with Mom. Lots of giggles from the two of them! 

Thanksgiving at the Ranch....

Sitting in a deer blind is very peaceful!! 

A big oops in the oven! Mom put this bread in the oven overnight to dry out....then forgot it was in there! A vintage Tupperware all melted and had to be thrown away. But the dressing did turn out extra good!! 

It was a big hunting week/weekend. Joshua got a doe, a spike and a hog. Christopher shot his first deer! 

 

#25!

Joshua played football this year and even though they did not win any games, I think he enjoyed it and learned a lot!! He played wide receiver and we loved seeing #25 on the field!!! 

 

First Day of School--part 2!

Finally the first day of in-person school!!! Pretty sure I was the most excited out of all of us!!

Jake left early to go to practice. 

Joshua let me take a pic in the car!

Sophia and Rylie refused a picture so I took one as they were walking away! 

 This year is looking A LOT different but really hoping that they all have a great 2nd first day of school! 

Labor Day Weekend....

We went down to the beach with the Dunlaps for Labor Day Weekend. All I got was these 2 pictures. :( But we had a great time (as always!!!). 

 

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Happy 12th Birthday Joshua!!! From day one you have been happy and smiling! 

This was a low key birthday (it's been a whole low key year!!!!).  We're always happy to celebrate you!! This year you were super excited to get a Nintendo Switch!  We can't wait to see what happy things are waiting for you this year. 

 

First day of school....

First day looks a little different this year. All kids ready for online learning! The district has done a lot of work over the summer so we're excited to see how it goes! And how long before they are allowed to go back in person! 

 

Ranch with the Hannas!

 At the beginning of August, the Hannas came with us to the ranch for a weekend of fun. Sadly...this is the only picture I got! :(

Cousin Camp 2020!

We headed to Neal's Lodge in Concan for the 12th annual Cousin Camp. Mom came along to be the camp cook. She shared a cabin with us. Mary and her family had their own. 

The kids loved the river. It was a lot of fun! 

We celebrated Jake's birthday while we there. Mom made a cake and the 4 cousins helped decorate. They each had their own section.

We went to the Frio Bat Cave. It's truly amazing how many bats come out!!!!

Lots of time at the river swimming, climbing the big rocks, going down the slide and just relaxing on the banks!

The annual scavenger hunt....Mary and I tried to make it super hard this year. And it was hard!! The kids got pretty frustrated. It was super hot and there was lots of walking. But they did eventually make it to the end. 

Cousin Camp in a pandemic requires special masks!

This is how we felt at the end of Cousin Camp!!!

Why is the sign still upside down???

Chilling by the campfire! 

 The official cousin camp picture of 2020!!  

Another one in the books!!!